Monthly Archives: August 2007

Yesterday I spent the day in a place called Gastello, situated just outside Poronaysk about 280km north of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. I’d travelled up the night before on the same train I took to Nogliki in July, only this time I wasn’t … Continue reading →

We’re now back in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk from our holiday in Singapore, which was excellent with the exception of a few days of rain which meant we had to stay under shelter sipping cocktails all day. We also managed to take a … Continue reading →

My application to open an offshore bank account with HSBC has fallen flat on its face. In order for somebody resident in Russia to open an account on the Isle of Man, they need to have an opening balance of … Continue reading →

Tomorrow I’m off on holiday to Singapore again, this time for a couple of weeks and taking my wife with me. We might go up to Malaysia for a few days in the second week to get some snorkelling in, … Continue reading →

Following the poor response of the local authorities to last week’s earthquake on Sakhalin, the regional governor has been forced to resign: Russian President Vladimir Putin accepted Tuesday the resignation of Ivan Malakhov as governor of the Sakhalin Region in … Continue reading →

Having spoken to a few Russians around the place about the flag that the Russian expedition has plonked beneath the North Pole, it is safe to say that almost all Russians are as proud as punch. And well they might be, … Continue reading →

An earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale has hit Sakhalin Island near the town of Kholmsk, no doubt causing several thousand dollars worth of improvements. More seriously, one woman was killed in the nearby town of Nevel’sk when a … Continue reading →

My wife sent me a link to this webpage, which contains 100 photos from the Soviet Union, many of which speak volumes about the life and times in the USSR. Funnily enough, in many ways life in the USSR didn’t look much … Continue reading →